Forming & growing disciples of Jesus in miami

Story of Wonder

Rhythm Team

We learn in 1 Chronicles 16 that telling stories of God’s goodness and giving thanks was at the center of Hebrew worship. The Israelites set aside time to practice gratitude within their worship by speaking of God’s mighty deeds and remembering his blessings, wonderful works, and faithfulness.

We ask folks in our community to share their Stories of Wonder at our public worship. These are stories of God working in our midst, speaking, leading, and providing for his people. This gives us an opportunity to recognize and rejoice in God’s powerful deeds, and it also trains us to pay attention to how God might be at work in our own lives. This one is from Esther.

This is indeed a story of wonder and I have the fabulous opportunity to share what the Lord has done for me this past week. About a week ago I got into a car accident. (Not how you thought this story would start, am I right?) I was sitting at a red light minding my own and I got hit from behind and pushed out into the intersection. And the lady who hit me looked like she was going to stay, but she sped off before I could get her information. So it was a hit and run of all things. My car most likely is totaled (still waiting to hear back). A rough week needless to say, but God is still so good and I can see his fingerprints all over this! Let me explain.

Though I got pushed out into the intersection, no cars went or were going so I did not get hit twice nor hit another car myself. This was because a driver in the far right lane was looking to turn left and had waved the other cars to a stop so he could do that before they went. In the split second where he was out of my car’s path but not yet out of the intersection so the other cars could not yet go, I got hit. And I was able to pull off to the side of the road only impacted once. Praise the Lord!

I work for a missions organization called InnerCHANGE. As a part of our weekly rhythms everyone in the organization where ever they are in the world, meets up every Tuesdays and prays both for their context and also for one person in the organization. So once a year I get prayed for by everyone. The day after my accident was my day to get prayed for. So immediately following my accident I was being covered in prayer. I believe God orchestrated this for my goodwill.

That Tuesday I wake up. I had hit my head pretty hard in the wreck and my shoulder was hurting from the strain of my seatbelt. My body, especially my neck and shoulder, were very sore and I could not turn my head fully to the left due to the shoulder pain. I was happy to get prayed over that day by my team and the organization as a whole. I went in talking to my teammate Erika who suggested before the prayer putting an essential oil on my shoulder and neck to help with the pain. When I got prayed for, Erika put some oil on my shoulder. I of course, due to our conversation earlier, thought it must have been an essential oil. It felt very good! After the prayer I asked her what oil she had used because I wanted some more for the rest of my neck and for later. She said she had merely used olive oil to pray over and anoint for healing. As I began to massage my shoulder I realized that not only did it feel better, and that the tension knot was gone, but also that I could now turn my shoulder to the left. It was completely healed! God is so good.

It is not easy when circumstances don’t go our way and I do wonder why did I even get into an accident on the same week I was being prayed over. At the same time I know that in the paradox of people making their own choices (not always the best ones like the lady who hit me), God is still ordering our steps and looking out for his children. I’ve never been physically healed before and didn’t even realize it was happening until after the prayer, but I feel so honored to be the recipient of God’s great power. What a privilege it is to be able to share one of the tangible and powerful ways God has come through for me, his beloved. He is the Great Physician and his word does not fail (James 5:14-16).